DESPITE a court order, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) yesterday said it will not release from its custody nickel businessman Joseph Sy, whom it earlier identified as Chinese citizen Chen Zhing Zhen.
The BI earlier detained Sy, chairman of the mining company Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., after he arrived from Hong Kong for reportedly holding fraudulently acquired Philippine identity documents.
BI Spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said they had already filed an appeal contesting the release order issued by the Taguig City Regional Trial Court last Friday.
“No. This is still for appeal,” Sandoval told reporters when asked if the agency would release Sy while it is appealing the court order.
“A notice of appeal has already been submitted electronically on Friday evening,” she added.
In a statement last Saturday, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said they received the order to release Sy, signed by Taguig RTC Branch 221 Judge Esperanza Cortes on Friday.
Viado said that while they respect the court order, the agency maintains that there is strong evidence against Sy, “supported by BI biometric records” that he is a Chinese citizen.
With guidance from the Department of Justice, Viado said the BI has submitted its appeal on the court’s decision and will be waiting for its resolution.
The BI insisted that Sy is a Chinese who managed to get hold of a long-term visa under Republic Act 7919 or The Alien Social Integration Act of 1995.
The immigration bureau said fingerprint records matched him to a Chinese who had previously been issued a long-term visa and an alien identity card.
Sy’s company has sought his release, noting that he is a holder of a valid Philippine passport.
Sandoval said Sy could have used his long-term visa as a “shortcut” instead of going through the process of naturalization if he wanted to become a Filipino citizen.
